Red Wine Rosemary Risotto

Servings : 4
Prep Time : 10m
Cook Time : 10m
Ready In : 20m

This recipe for Red Wine Rosemary Risotto is perfect for slow-braised meats or grilled steaks. Bold, beefy with rich flavors.

Red Wine Rosemary Risotto

Ingredients

If cooking in the Pressure Cooker

2 cups low-sodium beef broth

If making the other way

1 quart low-sodium beef stock plus 1 cup water

For Both

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary (if the stems are tender you can chop them as well, but if woody, remove the leaves and use only them)

1 cup arborio rice

1/2 cup red wine

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon butter, to finish

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Method

Step 1

If making the "standard" way

In a saucepan combine the stock with 1 cup water; heat until hot – keep warm.

Step 2

For both methods

In a deep wide pan or your pressure cooker, heat the olive oil and butter together until the butter is melted; add the onions and sauté; stirring until they are just browning around the edges; add the rosemary and rice; sauté until the rice is slightly translucent around the edges, about 3 – 5 minutes. Add the wine; simmer briskly, stirring, until the wine is absorbed.

Step 3

If using your pressure cooker

Stir in the beef broth then close the lid. Bring to pressure, reduce heat and cook for 7 minutes.

Step 4

If doing it the old-fashioned way

Add 2 cups of the stock; simmer briskly (not a boil, just a very fast simmer), stirring occasionally until the stock has been absorbed. Add a pinch of salt along with about 1/2 cup liquid (1 standard ladle); simmer and stir until the stock has been absorbed. Continue adding the liquid I/2 cup at a time, allowing each to absorb into the rice before adding more; until the rice is just tender and creamy looking (you may not have to use all the liquid). Taste the risotto, the rice should be tender but still firm.

Step 5

If you were smart and used your pressure cooker

Once the 7 minutes is up, release the pressure using the quick release method, (that's putting the pot under cold running water to immediately release the pressure.) Place the pot back onto the stove-top. There will be excess liquid; let it simmer until almost all of any liquid has been absorbed, about 1 - 2 minutes, stirring constantly (this makes it creamy). Turn off the heat.

Step 6

For Both

Stir in the butter and parmesan cheese. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper.

The story behind Red Wine Rosemary Risotto

A printer-friendly recipe card can be found at the bottom of this post

This recipe for Red Wine Rosemary Risotto is bold, beefy and rich. It’s a great risotto to serve with rich meats, like slow-braised short ribs, or lamb shanks. It also goes beautifully with grilled steaks and lamb chops. It’s just so meaty.

Red Wine Rosemary Risotto is bold, beefy and rich

As many of you might know, I love to cook risotto in a pressure cooker. Always. Why?

Reason # 1 – It’s mostly hands-free.

Most all risotto recipes have you adding liquid and then cooking it down until almost no more liquid is in the pan, stirring often, then adding more liquid. Again and again.

Reason # 2 – It’s quick.

Once you brown the onions, rice and add the liquids, put on the top and count 7 minutes from the time the pot comes to pressure. In the standard method, you need to allow 30 – 40 minutes for your risotto to be done.

Reason # 3 – It’s more economical.

With the standard method, it’s 1 cup rice to 1-quart liquid. With a pressure cooker, it’s 1 cup rice to 2 cups liquid. That’s half the liquid, and with the cost of stocks and broths the way it is, isn’t that a good thing? You could make 2 batches with the same container of broth.

Reason #4 – It uses one less pot.

Most standard recipes have you warming the liquid up in another pot and keeping it warm while you make the risotto. Not with the pressure cooker, just add the liquid and bring to a simmer.

Reason # 5 – It’s practically foolproof yielding perfect results

I’ve been making my risotto in the pressure cooker for about 2 years now and have yet had one turn out poorly. I can’t say the same about the standard method. Now that said, I guess you could screw it up by having the fire up too high under the pressure cooker, making the rice scorch, but that’s easily avoided … just keep the pot over a lower heat, just enough to keep the pressure valve up, then no scorch.

So are you sold on the pressure cooker idea yet?

No?

Well, I will give you instructions for both methods. But I do hope you will try to get over the fear of using a pressure cooker. It’s really a handy tool.

Red Wine Rosemary Risotto

This recipe for Red Wine Rosemary Risotto is perfect for slow-braised meats or grilled steaks. Bold, beefy with rich flavors.

Prep Time10 minutes

Cook Time10 minutes

Total Time20 minutes

Ingredients

If cooking in the Pressure Cooker

2 cups low-sodium beef broth

If making the other way

1 quart low-sodium beef stock plus 1 cup water

For Both

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary (if the stems are tender you can chop them as well, but if woody, remove the leaves and use only them)

1 cup arborio rice

1/2 cup red wine

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon butter, to finish

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Step 1

If making the "standard" way

In a saucepan combine the stock with 1 cup water; heat until hot – keep warm.

Step 2

For both methods

In a deep wide pan or your pressure cooker, heat the olive oil and butter together until the butter is melted; add the onions and sauté; stirring until they are just browning around the edges; add the rosemary and rice; sauté until the rice is slightly translucent around the edges, about 3 – 5 minutes. Add the wine; simmer briskly, stirring, until the wine is absorbed.

Step 3

If using your pressure cooker

Stir in the beef broth then close the lid. Bring to pressure, reduce heat, and cook for 7 minutes.

Step 4

If doing it the old-fashioned way

Add 2 cups of the stock; simmer briskly (not a boil, just a very fast simmer), stirring occasionally until the stock has been absorbed. Add a pinch of salt along with about 1/2 cup liquid (1 standard ladle); simmer and stir until the stock has been absorbed. Continue adding the liquid I/2 cup at a time, allowing each to absorb into the rice before adding more; until the rice is just tender and creamy looking (you may not have to use all the liquid). Taste the risotto, the rice should be tender but still firm.

Step 5

If you were smart and used your pressure cooker

Once the 7 minutes is up, release the pressure using the quick-release method, (that's putting the pot under cold running water to immediately release the pressure.) Place the pot back onto the stove-top. There will be excess liquid; let it simmer until almost all of any liquid has been absorbed, about 1 - 2 minutes, stirring constantly (this makes it creamy). Turn off the heat.

Step 6

For Both

Stir in the butter and parmesan cheese. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper.